


A Novel Beginning

by vaelisamaza (varellanoemo)



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 16:18:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15800145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/varellanoemo/pseuds/vaelisamaza
Summary: Here's another approach to the relationship we adore.Tech guru finds romance in an unexpected way.





	1. A Spilt Latte

CHAPTER ONE - A Spilt Latte

“Are you sitting down?” the excited voice at the other end of the phone line started. 

Felicity Smoak paused from walking on the sidewalk and exhaled, knowing that she would not be able to get a word in edge-wise until her best friend and step-sister, Iris West, finished her train of thought. They met in dance class when they were eight years-old. It had been a matter of months before their single parents started dating and then married. Now, fifteen years later, the two sisters were very close. Iris was the owner of the country’s preeminent romance book review website and Felicity ran Central City’s best-rated computer repair shop, Smoak Tech. Plus, Felicity was Iris’ top romance book reviewer for her website.

“Remember that review you did for The Huntress Cometh?” asked Iris.

Felicity grinned widely. The Huntress Cometh was the debut novel by Olivia Bowman and one Felicity had thoroughly enjoyed. The heroine in the story had been thought dead for five years, the victim of the tragic sinking of her family’s yacht in the South China Seas. Then, she mysteriously returns home, looking to avenge her family’s death by becoming a masked vigilante targeting the people she believes to be guilty. Along the way, she discovers love and a new mission to save her city.

Not waiting for her sister to respond, Iris continued, “Well, the publisher just called. They wanted to know if you would like to review an advanced copy of the book’s sequel?” The loud squeal at the other end of the line was the answer Iris was hoping for.

Felicity closed her eyes and jumped with delight, throwing both arms up and out, haphazardly in joy. It wasn’t until she heard the loud “OW!” that she dropped her phone, covered her mouth with her hand in shock and looked at the man sitting on the ground beside her. He looked down and massaged his jaw with his hand. Felicity squatted down next to him. “I am so sorry about that,” she apologized as she reached out and laid her hand on his arm, feeling a very solid bicep under the green Henley he was wearing. Felicity quickly removed her hand as a jolt of static electricity jolted her. She picked up her phone, quickly checked the glass to make sure the casing had protected it, let Iris know she would call her back and stood up. Then, she looked back at the stranger still on the ground, a bulky knapsack next to him. She noticed he had dusky blond hair, short, but not cropped to close to his head. He looked up at her. That was when she noticed his azure eyes and paused for a moment.

“That’s some jab you’ve got,” the handsome stranger smiled up at her.

Felicity blushed. “Yeah, my step-Dad’s a cop and made sure I learned self-defense…not that I think I need to defend myself from you…, I mean, do I?” she stammered. 

The stranger chuckled, pulled his knapsack to him and stood up next to her. “He did a good job,” he replied. Then he stuck out his hand toward her and added, “I’m Oliver, by the way.”

Felicity smiled at him, shook his hand and responded, “I’m Felicity.” She shook his hand and quickly dropped it as if singed and nervously giggled.

“That must have been some good news you got there,” he inquired as he placed his left hand in the front pocket of his jeans and used his right hand to run through his hair and then lightly rub the back of his neck. 

Felicity hesitated for a moment and thought before she answered, “I just found out I’m going to get an opportunity to do something before anyone else and I’m thrilled about it.” 

Oliver cocked his head the side at her vague answer. “Well, whatever it is, I’m glad you’re happy.” Then he looked around at the shops around him and adjusted his knapsack on his shoulder. “I’m not from around here, but the Hotel Concierge let me know that there was a computer repair shop on this street. You don’t happen to know where it’s located do you?”

Felicity smiled at him. “I was just heading there myself,” she replied and nodded her head to the right. “Why don’t you walk with me and I’ll show you the way?”

“Thanks!” Oliver replied and fell into step with Felicity as she started to walk to their mutual destination. “I’ve been here for a few weeks for work and this morning spilt my latte on my laptop, just when I have a crucial deadline to meet,” Oliver mentioned exasperatedly.

“Well, you are in luck, Mister,” Felicity replied cheekily as she stopped at the green storefront with silver lettering of Smoak Tech on the large glass window. She took her keys out of her pocket and opened the green door and walked inside, inviting Oliver to join her. 

Oliver followed Felicity inside the building and smiled as he watched her turn on the lights and head to an area behind the store’s counter. He walked up to the counter and waited for her to finish with her store opening duties. 

Once she was ready, Felicity joined Oliver at the counter.

“So, you’re Felicity Smoak of Smoak Tech?” he asked.

Felicity nodded her head in confirmation and admiration. Normally, people assumed she was simply the receptionist. “I am!” she confirmed. “I started Smoak Tech right out of college. Besides repairing computers, I also provide IT support to several local business, including Hotel Centro.”

“That’s where I’m staying,” Oliver mentioned. He smiled at her, locking eyes.

Felicity was the first one to blink and look away. She pulled the barstool closer the counter and sat down behind the counter. “Well, let’s take a look at what you’ve done…” Felicity admonished as she adjusted her glasses.

Oliver took the laptop out of his knapsack and handed it to her.

Tilting it side to side, Felicity reached under the counter for paper towels to sop up the last few remaining drops of liquid from his computer. “I should let you know that I’m going to need at least 24 hours to make sure all the liquid has completely dried before I try to access the memory on this baby.”

Oliver frowned. “I really need to email a file to my editor tonight. Is there any way you might be able to download my files and I could just buy a new computer at Tech Village?”

“Whoa, buddy!” She admonished, “First, how dare you consider purchasing anything at that soul-crushing pit of despair, and second, I think I might be able to download the hard drive onto a loaner laptop while I finish working on your computer if you can leave this little beauty with me for the rest of the day.” 

“Okay,” Oliver agreed. “Should I call you later to check on it?”

Felicity reached for one of her business cards and handed it to Oliver. “That would be great. I have a few other projects to crank out this morning…” Oliver frowned. “But, I should have something for you by 5 p.m. if you want to stop back by or call me. My cellphone number is on my business card for emergencies,” she pointed out to him.

“Cool!” he replied. “I’ll touch base with you later this afternoon.” Oliver headed back toward the storefront’s door, stopped before opening it, turned around and added, “Thank you, Felicity. You’re a life-saver.”

“I’m your girl…well, not your girl-girl, but the person who you can count on to fix your computer,” she tried to clarify.

Oliver smiled and gave her a soft chuckle. “I’ll call you later.” Then he exited the store and gave her a quick wave through the window before heading back down the street and out of sight.

“Good job, there Smoak,” she muttered to herself and began her day at Smoak Tech. 

Once she got a chance to download Oliver’s hard drive, she discovered it only contained files labeled Artemis Knight, the main character from The Huntress Cometh. Curious, Felicity clicked on the first file and recognized the contents, making her gasp. Was Oliver Queen really Olivia Bowman?


	2. Unthinkable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to @mel-loves-all for the beautiful edit you can see on my tumblr post for this story.  
> As a reminder, I do not own these characters. I merely hope I do them justice.

Previously - Felicity Smoak, computer repair shop owner and romance novel reviewer, unexpectedly meets Oliver Queen when he needs his laptop repaired and makes an unexpected discovery...

 

CHAPTER TWO – UNTHINKABLE

“So, have you found your Muse yet, Ollie?” an inquisitive Tommy Merlyn, Oliver’s literary agent and best friend asked as he swirled the highball of smooth Kentucky Bourbon while the two friends sat in the lobby bar of Hotel Centro.

Oliver sighed, lifted his glass of tequila, tossed the shot down and grinned at his best buddy. He knew Tommy was asking not only as his agent, but also as his friend. Tommy was the one who suggested he leave Star City for a change of pace, once his sister, Thea, departed for her Fall Semester at The Parsons School of Design. When their parents had passed during his final year of college, he made the decision to follow his dream of becoming an author. He invested his portion of the money he and his sister received from his Parents’ accident and focused on his writing while Thea finished high school. He contacted his childhood friend, Tommy, and let him know he had written a book and needed representation. Tommy agreed to represent his friend and sent Oliver’s first manuscript to a few of his friends in the publishing world. After receiving rejection letter after rejection letter from every publishing house the book had been submitted to, Oliver began to doubt his writing abilities. It had been the personal phone call from Lyla Michaels, an editor at Argus Publishing that changed everything.

Lyla had told him that she had thought very highly of his book; but had some recommendations for him. She let Oliver know that if he didn’t want to hear her out, she would respect that and recommend another editor to him. Intrigued by her comment, Oliver invited Lyla to meet with him to review his manuscript and hear her thoughts. She had been the one to suggest he change his protagonist to a woman. She also recommended that they release the story as a romance novel. Oliver had no problem with the first recommendation. He was, however, skeptical about categorizing his work as a romance novel. Lyla explained that there was a high demand for suspenseful and dramatic romance novels. Plus, she thought his work had the potential of becoming a best-seller. She even suggested releasing it under a female pseudonym if it made him more comfortable. Oliver agreed and settled on the name Olivia Bowman choosing the female version of his first name and “Bowman” as a nod to his favorite hobby, archery.

The Huntress Cometh had been released two years ago to little fanfare. It wasn’t until the enthusiastic recommendation from a reviewer on a very popular romance novel website that made the difference. Lyla explained that the reviewer, Ada11900, was a big part of the novel’s success. The reviewer had completely embraced his novel and wrote an amazing review that got picked up by several other websites. That led to Entertainment Weekly quoting the review and placing the book on their “Must List”. Oliver asked Lyla and Tommy both to try and track down the reviewer, so he could thank them, but they had not had any luck. The website that originally published the review would not release the identity of the reviewer to his publishing house or agent. Lyla suggested he consider offering the website first dibs on reviewing the novel’s sequel to see if that would entice the website to release the information about the reviewer to him. He knew that Lyla had already made the offer to the website to have an advanced copy of the book’s sequel. The only problem now, was that his laptop was currently drying out with the beautiful and quirky, Felicity Smoak. If she was unable to salvage the data from it, the sequel to The Huntress Cometh would not be going anywhere.

“That depends on whether or not you’ve had any luck with the owner of the website?” Oliver countered.

It was Tommy’s turn to grin. He arrived in Central City that morning and Lyla had called him when she had been unable to reach Oliver on his phone. “If you bothered to look at your text messages, you’d know that your Editor Extraordinaire, second only to your illustrious Literary Agent, me, has managed to get the website to agree to review your next novel.”

“That’s great!” Oliver replied exuberantly. “Will I get a chance to meet the reviewer?” 

“That depends on if you have something for them to review,” Tommy queried, took another swig and added, “The last time I checked, your manuscript wasn’t in my Drop Box.”

Oliver sighed and sat back in his chair. “About that…” he started.

“Oh, wait, let me guess, redhead or brunette?” Tommy teased.

“Actually, neither,” answered Oliver honestly. “You know my focus has only been Thea these past couple of years.”

“Which is why I told you to come to Central City, see the sights, maybe reclaim your lost youth…” suggested Tommy with a salacious smile. 

“I thought it was to get my mind off of Thea leaving for New York City and focus on finishing the sequel?” Oliver parried.

“No reason why you couldn’t accomplish them all,” Tommy rebutted cheekily, then reminded him, “and get me your next best-seller.”

“As I was saying, I was all set to download it for you and Lyla when I accidently spilled my coffee on my laptop,” Oliver admitted.

“Dude!” Tommy gasped and looked around where they were sitting. “Were you able to get it fixed?”

“It’s at a local computer repair shop as we speak,” Oliver said with smile, then turned away from Tommy and looked longingly at the window of the hotel toward the street.

Tommy scrutinized Oliver’s face and followed his gaze out the window. Realizing his friend was simply staring out at the people walking by the hotel, lost in his own thoughts, Tommy piped up, “Earth to Ollie…Earth to Ollie, where’d you go?”

“What? Sorry,” Oliver apologized and shook his head. Tommy just caught him daydreaming about a certain computer expert who had not called him all day. He sat forward in his chair, pulled out the business card given to him earlier today and studied it. The type face on the front matched the lettering on the storefront window, he remembered. He looked at his friend and said, “I should really call Smoak Tech to see if my computer’s hard drive was salvageable, excuse me.” Oliver stood up and walked closer to the window to make his call, noticing that his friend was giving him a strange look. He looked down at his watch and noticed that it was nearly 5 o’clock. Ignoring Tommy’s stare, Oliver pulled out his cell phone and dialed Felicity’s shop number. 

“Thank you for calling Smoak Tech, we’re currently assisting another valued customer. Please leave a message and one of our tech experts will call you back as soon as possible,” he heard Felicity’s voicemail message say. After the beep, he replied, “Hey, Felicity. It’s Oliver. I just wanted to check in with you to see if you were able to rescue my files on my computer….  
*************************************************************************************************************************

 

“Iris! Iris! You are never going to believe who I think I met today when I was talking to you on the phone!” an ecstatic Felicity proclaimed as she spoke to her sister on the phone. 

“You got off the phone with me so quickly earlier and never called me back, Sis,” Iris admitted, “I was starting to get worried.”

“Everything is fine…I mean everything is more than fine, actually,” Felicity added and smiled as she thought of the handsome man who unexpectedly walked into her fist that morning and who may just be the author of her favorite book.

“Please tell me this involves a man,” Iris pleaded teasingly.

“I’m getting to that part,” Felicity scolded. “When I was talking to you earlier, I accidently punched a guy on the street and knocked him down.”

“What?!” Iris gasped. 

“Dad will be so happy to know his self-defense training worked,” Felicity beamed.

“Fe-li-ci-ty,” Iris enunciated to get her sister back on track with her story.

“Right, sorry…anyway, the guy, um…Oliver… was actually on his way to my shop to have me help him with his laptop when I accidently hit him. Once we got to the shop, he left his laptop so I could try and recover its memory after he accidently spilled a latte on it.”

“He spilled his coffee on his computer?” quizzed Iris.

“I know! What a waste of a perfectly good cup of coffee, right?” Felicity replied. “Anyway, once it was dried out, I was able to retrieve his files and downloaded them onto a loaner for him. As I was retrieving the files, I recognized the name listed on the files and you’ll never guess who it was!”

Iris sighed on the other end of the phone. She could hear the excitement in Felicity’s voice. The last thing to get Felicity this animated was when the new Palmer Tech watch was released right after Thanksgiving. “Okay, Sis, I give. What did you discover?”

“Artemis Knight!” Felicity shouted enthusiastically, “the main character from The Huntress Cometh!” Then she paused for a moment, took a deep breath to steady herself and continued a bit more calmly, “I found files on Oliver’s computer that were saved as Artemis Knight 1, Artemis Knight 2, all the way to Artemis Knight 23.”

Iris sat up in her chair, adjusted the phone against her ear and inquired quietly, “Did you take a peek at the files?”

Felicity adjusted her seat cushion under her and admitted, “You know I hate a mystery.”

“So, you did take a look!” exclaimed Iris. “What did you find?”

“Either Oliver Queen is secretly writing fan fiction for his favorite romance novel heroine or he is really Olivia Bowman,” Felicity opined. 

Iris sat back in her chair and ruminated on Felicity’s words for a moment. She took a breath and offered, “Do you think it is just a coincidence that the very same day I get a call from Argus Publishing about you reviewing the sequel to The Huntress Cometh and then you end up with a damaged laptop that contains files named after the book’s protagonist?” Then Iris warned, “Remember, Felicity, Argus Publishing keeps asking me for the identity of the reviewer of The Huntress Cometh. I haven’t told them it’s you because I think it’s important to maintain my reviewers’ privacy.”

“I think…” Felicity started, then paused when she heard her shop phone ringing. The answering machine clicked on and she listed to the voicemail Oliver was leaving. “I gotta go, Iris,” Felicity said, “I hear Oliver leaving me a voicemail on the machine and I need to solve this mystery.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for reading my story.  
> I hope it made you smile and that you continue on this journey with me.  
> If you feel inclined, please let me know what you think. 
> 
> I don't have a posting schedule, but I will do my best to post about every other week.


	3. The Undertaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for reading my little story.  
> A very huge THANK YOU to my dear friend @mel-loves-all for her wonderful edit for this story you can see on my tumblr page.
> 
> I do not own these characters. I merely hope I do them justice.
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. :-)

Previously - Oliver meets up with his literary, Tommy Merlyn and Felicity has an eye-opening conversation with Iris.

CHAPTER THREE – THE UNDERTAKING

“Hello…Oliver?” Felicity gasped after racing to the phone to answer it before Oliver could finish leaving a message.

“Hey, Felicity.” a pleased Oliver replied as he could hear her breathlessness when she answered the phone. Smiling to himself, he asked, “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Felicity looked around her and then over toward the computer where she had downloaded the data she recovered from Oliver’s laptop. “No…no, um, I was just finishing the download of your files to a loaner you can borrow until we can get you a new computer.”

“You were you able to salvage the files from my computer?” He responded, “I’m impressed!” 

“Yeah, um…about that,” Felicity started, then paused for a moment. How do you ask someone if they write romance novels for a living and tell them that they are your favorite romance novel author, she thought to herself?

Concerned by Felicity’s hesitation, Oliver interrupted, “Did something happen?”

“What? Yes…, I mean no. Everything is okay. I was able to save your files, so you can finish whatever it is you are working on,” Felicity stammered. Her excitement at discovering those files and what they contained was something she was going to need to suppress for now. If Oliver really is Olivia Bowman, then he must be using a pseudonym for a reason. Taking in a breath, she ventured, “Would you like me to drop it off at the Hotel for you?”

Oliver’s shoulders sagged with relief. Felicity was a miracle worker if she was able to save his work. He remembered Lyla had suggested he use Google documents to save his work, but he preferred to keep his work with him and not online. She had joked with him that she was going to send him a typewriter for his next novel. After the spilt latte fiasco, he knew he needed to reconsider her suggestion. For a brief-moment, he wondered if Felicity peeked at his files to see what was so important to him. Then he thought, she probably was too busy working on her other clients’ computer issues. Next, He took a quick look at Tommy, who was still sitting in his chair, flirting with the cocktail server while ordering a second round of drinks. He wasn’t in the mood for partying, even if his best friend was visiting. He knew exactly what he would prefer to do that evening. “How about I stop by to pick it up and then take you to dinner for saving my life?” he offered instead. 

“You want to take me out to dinner?” Felicity asked incredulously. Was he really asking her out on a date, she wondered?

Oliver chuckled into the phone. He hadn’t asked a girl out on a date in a very long time and wondered if he had done it correctly. “Yes,” he replied unequivocally. “Felicity Smoak, will you go out to dinner with me?”

Felicity grinned from ear-to-ear and couldn’t help herself from nodding her head as she replied into the phone, “Yes…yes, Oliver, I will have dinner with you.”

Oliver silently pumped his fist and gave himself a mental high-five. “Great! How about I stop by your shop in an hour?”

Felicity looked down at her Dr. Who t-shirt, jeans and scuffed sneakers. “Ummm, how about I meet you at the Hotel in two hours and I’ll bring your laptop with me?” she suggested. 

“Did I forget to mention how cool I thought your Dr. Who shirt is?” Oliver asked, hoping to allay her concerns about what she was wearing. He was familiar enough with the show to recognize the blue box that the main character traveled in on the series. Oliver remembered it was emblazoned on the t-shirt she had been wearing when he met her earlier that day. 

“Oh! Are you a fan?” Felicity asked excitedly. It was not every day she ran into a fellow Dr. Who fan. 

It was Oliver’s turn to hesitate for a moment. “Um, no, not really…” He heard Felicity’s breath intake in disappointment and added quickly, “I’m more of a Harry Potter fan myself. My little sister loved the books and I used to read them to her all the time while she was growing up,” he admitted to her. “Along the way, I started to enjoy them and would re-read them as a reminder to me to always persevere.” He smiled to himself. He had never said that out loud before. Granted he had used those books as a way to bond with his little sister because his Mom had suggested it to him. After getting rejection letter after rejection letter for his first novel, he reread those books as a reminder that J.K. Rowling had also been rejected numerous times before finding a publishing house that believed in her stories. Sensing Felicity was starting to relax, Oliver suggested, “I was actually hoping you might be able to recommend a great place for a burger and a beer, unless there was somewhere special you’d prefer?”

“No, a burger and a beer sounds great to me,” agreed Felicity. She knew exactly where they should go too. “I’ll text you the address and meet you there in an hour.”  
**************************************************************************************

“You must be Tommy Merlyn,” the beautiful woman with long flowing black hair declared, hand stretched out in greeting.

Tommy turned around from the where he stood by the lobby bar to take in the sight of the beautiful woman who appeared next to him. “I am if you are asking,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye, a charming smile and clasped the offered hand in his, bringing it up to his lips for a soft kiss.

Iris grimaced and gently pulled her hand out of his grasp. “Ah, Lyla warned me you were a charmer.”

Tommy playfully frowned and replied, “Please don’t forget dashing, humble and very much single.” Then he pulled out the barstool next to him and invited Iris to sit down. “You must be Miss West, the Romance Review website guru who has catapulted my client to the best-sellers list.” Tommy pulled out the barstool next to Iris, sat down and added, “Thank you for that, by-the-way.”

Iris sat down in the offered seat, moved her purse to her lap, nodded at the bartender and ordered, “I’ll have a bourbon, neat.” Then she looked at Tommy appraisingly. Iris had known Lyla Michaels a long time. When she mentioned that Olivia Bowman’s agent wanted to meet to discuss her top reviewer getting a special advanced look at the sequel to The Huntress Cometh, Iris was truly intrigued. Normally she received ARCs from the publishing house and distributed them to her reviewers for their opinion to post on her website. When Lyla had called asking for the name of the reviewer for Olivia Bowman’s book, she was caught off guard, but let her friend know that she would not tell her. Next, Lyla let her know that Literary Agent to the Stars, Mr. Tommy Merlyn, wanted to meet to discuss his client Olivia Bowman’s upcoming sequel. Iris googled Tommy to see what he looked like and learned that he was not only handsome, but also a bit of a player. Knowing that Felicity may have discovered that Olivia Bowman may be a pseudonym for his true client, she wondered if this was going to be his attempt to convince her to tell him the identity of Ada11900. She took a drink from her glass and settled into her chair, comfortably. Well, let’s see where this goes, she thought to herself and turned toward Tommy Merlyn.

“I’ll have what she’s having,” added Tommy with another wink and a smile for Iris as the bartender placed the drink in front of her causing her to simply shake her head and sigh. Sensing her resistance to his tactics, Tommy sat straighter in his chair, turned toward Iris without invading her personal space and offered, “Thank you for agreeing to meet me while I’m in Central City.”

“I’m not sure why you wanted to meet, Mr. Merlyn…” Iris began.

“Tommy,” he interrupted. “Please call me, Tommy. Mr. Merlyn is my father and he’s not someone I want to be confused for.” 

The disgust in Tommy’ voice told her that there was something going on there, but she didn’t want to pry. “Okay, Tommy. I’ve already explained to Lyla that it goes against our website’s policy to release the identities of our reviewers. Each one has been with my site since the very beginning and I will not have publishing houses trying to unduly influence them. The integrity and reliability of the reviews on my site is what keeps readers coming back and following our recommendations.”

“I’m not here to influence your reviewer,” Tommy informed her earnestly. “I’m here to personally ask you for a favor and in return offer you an opportunity that goes beyond simply getting access for Ada11900 to provide the initial review for the sequel to The Huntress Cometh.”

Intrigued, Iris sat a little straighter in her chair and leaned toward Tommy. “I’m listening,” she responded, paying more attention to what Tommy was preparing to say.

Sensing a change in Iris’ demeanor, Tommy relaxed a little, took in a breath and replied, “Olivia Bowman is merely a pen name for my client. I want your website to host the grand reveal of who Olivia Bowman really is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for reading this chapter.  
> If you liked it, please let me know.  
> Your support means the world to me!  
> Thank you! :-)


	4. Who are You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to @mel-loves-all for the beautiful artwork for this story. You can find it on my tumblr account.
> 
> Thank you for your patience while I get this chapter written. I hope you enjoy it.

CHAPTER FOUR – WHO ARE YOU?

Oliver looked down at his phone again to double check the address Felicity texted him. Then he looked at the battered numbers with peeling paint at the top of the threshold of the wooden doorway he was standing in front of and confirmed they were the same numbers. There were two floors above the doorwayThe surrounding building was very narrow with no windows. Next door was a bustling pizza parlor that was doing a brisk business. The other side of the building Felicity directed him too, was a quiet looking double-doored, brownstone tri-level house with a small stoop behind a waist-high wrought iron gate. He looked both ways down the street and wondered if Felicity was running late. His phone released a familiar ping of an incoming message. He looked down at his phone to see a text from Tommy confirming lunch for tomorrow. He hadn’t expected Tommy to be so accommodating when he told him he had plans for the evening. Oliver was not a bit surprised when Tommy told him he too had plans of his own that evening. Tommy had yet to visit a city where he didn’t have a woman he could call at the spur of the moment when needed. 

“Oliver!”

He heard his name called from his right-side and turned toward the feminine voice with a smile. Felicity hurriedly walked down the concrete sidewalk toward him, smiled back and waved. He waved back and chuckled to himself. He hadn’t been this nervous in a long time and hoped it didn’t show. He noticed she carried a burlap knapsack, large enough to hold a computer, strapped across her Dr. Who t-shirt. Little did she know, but Felicity had possession of his future. The story contained in the files from his computer was even more personal to him than his first book. He didn’t care if the book reviewer Ada 11900 liked it or not. He had written a story that was filled with love and honoring the dead, by fighting for hopes and dreams, even those you kept closest to your heart. His eyes lifted to Felicity’s. They were bright, clear and focused on him. He felt a flutter inside his stomach that was more than hunger. He’d spent the last several years focused on Thea. Now, was his chance to strive for what he wanted, he thought. As she stood next to him, Oliver confessed, “I wasn’t sure this was the right spot, but you’re here, so it must be.”

“I’m sorry, I’m late,” Felicity apologized and tugged on the knapsack’s shoulder strap, adjusting it to a more comfortable position. “I had a last-minute emergency for a client so I’m glad I didn’t need to change,” she admitted.

“No problem,” he replied. “Here, that must be heavy.” Oliver reached for the knapsack as Felicity shrugged it off her shoulder, giving it to him. Once secure on his shoulder, he nodded his head toward the beat-up wooden doorway and asked skeptically, “So, is this the place where I’m taking you to dinner?”

“Yep!” Felicity replied, emphasizing the “-p” as she responded. Then she reached for door knob, opened it, reached for Oliver’s hand and led him inside a barely lit hallway.

As they walked deeper into the building, Oliver could see a lit doorway ahead and the sound of people talking, glasses clinking and plates clattering. Once they were at the end of the hallway, Felicity released his hand, not noticing the frown that appeared on Oliver’s face. They had entered an area that was totally unexpected from his initial assessment standing on the sidewalk outside the building. They had just entered an enclosed courtyard peppered with about 15 café tables surrounding a gurgling fountain. To his left was a small bar area doing a brisk business and on the other side of the fountain, he saw a small stage with a drum set, a few guitars, a microphone, speakers and a keyboard sitting there, all empty. Then he turned and watched as Felicity wrapped both arms around the broad shoulders of the tall man standing in front of her. The gentleman hugged her back and gave Oliver a not so subtle assessing look. 

Felicity took a step back out of the embrace, turned toward Oliver and introduced, “Oliver, this is my best friend and reason why I have not starved to death since I moved back home, Chef John Diggle.” Felicity smiled up at John and watched as he stuck his hand out towards Oliver. 

Oliver grasped the offered hand and began to shake it when he was suddenly pulled in closer to the other gentleman.

“If you hurt her, they’ll never find your body,” John whispered as he leaned into Oliver, then released his grip on Oliver’s hand, stepped back and smiled at him. “I have a table all-ready for you over here closer to the kitchen, just follow me,” John directed them both.

Felicity wrapped her arm around Oliver’s arm as they followed John toward their table and added softly, “He’s really a great big teddy bear who happens to make the most amazing burgers in the city.” 

Oliver looked down at Felicity for a moment and saw the earnest smile and how brightly her eyes shone.

Once at the table, Oliver pulled out the chair for Felicity and earned an approving nod of the head from John. Then he sat down, and John handed him a menu.

“I know you know this by heart, City-girl,” John teased using a nickname he had given Felicity a long time ago, then smirked, “but since your Date has never been here before I thought he might have some questions.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow at John’s smirk, looked at Felicity, noticed the bright pink that now tinged her cheeks, while she busied herself with adjusting the napkin on her lap. He looked down at the menu quickly and smiled to himself. Then lifted his gaze to meet John’s and challenged, “I’m not really a picky eater. Is there a burger you think I should try?”

John smiled at him in approval. “I’m pretty proud of my St. Louis BBQ Patty Melt on Texas Toast. It’s not your typical burger and there’s enough heat in the special sauce to pair it perfectly with the smooth double/imperial IPA I just received from a craft brewery out of Wallla Walla, Washington.”

“Sounds good to me,” Oliver agreed with John and then winked at Felicity. 

“Great! I’ll place your order,” John informed, took the menu from Oliver and then smiled at Felicity as he headed back toward the kitchen. A server stopped by and dropped off two glasses of water and one goblet filled with a red wine for Felicity. They both said “thank you” to the server and took a sip of their drinks. 

Oliver looked around the room and noticed all the other diners enjoying their meals. His eye kept leading his gaze toward the silent instruments.

Felicity noticed where he was looking, so she asked, “Do you play?”

“I used to,” he nodded and admitted wistfully. His parents had insisted that he and his sister learn a musical instrument. Thea excelled at the piano. His instrument of choice was the guitar. The feel of a guitar in his hands and strumming chords familiar to him was something he used to enjoy before his parents passing. “I haven’t played in years,” he added, then inquired, “How about you?”

Felicity chuckled, “Oh, not me. The only keyboard I’m a whiz at is wirelessly connected to my tablet.” Then she swirled her wine glass, took a sip of the wine, closed her eyes and savored the beverage as soon as it hit her palate. She wanted to ask Oliver about what she discovered on his laptop. But, how do you ask if the gorgeous guy sitting across from you also happens to be your favorite romance writer? She noticed Oliver was looking around the courtyard. “John and his brother, Andy, purchased this building about five years ago. They live next door in the brownstone.” Felicity paused for a moment and looked up at the building, then added, “When I moved back home after school, I didn’t really want to move back to Mom and Dad’s, so I rented the third-floor apartment above them.” She pointed upward toward a window with light shining through pale blue curtains. “Andy is the baker in the family and always leaves a muffin or pastry for me to gobble on my way to the shop each morning, while John always makes sure I have something to eat for dinner.”

Their meal arrived, and it was amazing. John was right. The IPA paired perfectly with what Oliver was eating. Felicity enjoyed a juicy burger with cherry tomatoes, arugala and a pickled watermelon rind slaw. Oliver spoke about how proud he was of his little sister and her design studies in New York. He mentioned how much he’d enjoyed being in Central City for the past several weeks. He talked about driving out into the mountains between here and Ivytown to hike along the Idyllwild Trail. But, not once did he mention anything about the files she had found on his damaged laptop. Who exactly is Oliver Queen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter. Hopefully it won't be four weeks before the next chapter is posted.
> 
> Please let me know what you think.


	5. Schism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously - Oliver and Felicity have gone to dinner and met Chef John Diggle and his brother, Andy. Now we find out what happens next...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge Thank You to my dear friend @mel-loves-all for the beautiful edit she created for this story that is visible on my tumblr page. I hope you enjoy this chapter. :-)

CHAPTER FIVE – SCHISM

“So, I hear you had a date last night, Sweetie,” Felicity’s mother, Donna, asked innocently as she juiced another orange for their family’s breakfast.

“What?!” Felicity sputtered and coughed as she was drinking her coffee while sitting on a stool next to the kitchen island where her Mother stood.

“Babe,” Joe warned his wife with a little nudge to her hip, “if our little girl went out on a date, she can tell YOU all about if after we’ve finished eating Mama Mabel’s signature French toast.” Then he flipped two pieces onto the plate in front of Felicity.

Donna grinned as she handed her daughter a towel, walked around the island and sat down next to Felicity. She wrapped one arm around her daughter and remarked, “I think your Dad is trying to tell me he’d like to eat his breakfast in peace before leaving us to clean the kitchen and chat while he’s watching the football game.”

“I smell French toast,” Iris announced as she entered in through the kitchen door, placed her purse down on a bench and walked into the open arms of her Dad.

“Hey, baby girl,” Joe smiled and kissed his daughter on her forehead. “Sit down next to your sister and I’ll get you a plate.”

Iris walked around the island, gave Donna a hug in greeting and then sat down on the other side of Felicity. He placed a steaming plate of French toast in front of her. She rewarded her Dad with a smile, looked at her sister and step-mom and asked, “So, what’s new?”

Felicity shook her head side-to side quickly trying to deter her Mom from answering to no avail.

“That’s a wonderful question, Honey,” Donna replied. “I just asked your sister to tell me about her date last night.”

Iris bit her lower lip, shrugged her shoulders, leaned in and whispered to Felicity, “Sorry.”

“Oh, okay Ladies,” Joe caved, “I’m going to take my plate, go to the den and watch the game while your mother gets all her answers.”

“Dad…” Felicity pleaded.

“Sorry, baby doll, but your sister and I both know your Mom isn’t going to stop until she knows how everything went,” Joe apologized and took his plate with him out of the kitchen to the safety of his favorite chair in front of the TV.

“Now that it’s just us girls…” Donna began.

“Nothing happened,” Felicity interrupted much too quickly, earning a shocked look from her sister and a gasp from her Mother. “I mean, we had a great dinner and Oliver walked me to my door…”

Donna scooted her barstool closer to her daughter. “Then what happened?” she eagerly inquired.

Felicity rolled her eyes, moved her seat back and walked away from the island and headed toward the window facing the backyard. Then she turned around and pointed her finger at her sister and accused, “You…you started this,” to which Iris sat there and played with her earring. 

“That’s enough, Felicity,” her mother cautioned. “I already played this game with your sister after I ran into her at Hotel Centro where she was having drinks with a dashing young man…”

“Mom…” Iris chastised causing Felicity to focus her attention back on her sister.

“I thought you were meeting with the lady from Argus Publishing yesterday?” Felicity quizzed.

It was Iris’ turn to squirm in her seat under the scrutinizing glare of her sister and bemused look on her Step-mom. “Yeah, about that…You see Lyla called me and let me know that she couldn’t make it after all and she was sending someone else to come and meet with me…”

“Hurry up and get to the part where Mr. Baby Blue Eyes wants you to throw a party for his client!” Donna eagerly interjected.

“Mommm!” Iris exclaimed. “You weren’t supposed to say anything about that.”

“Oops,” Donna apologized, “I’m sorry, Honey. It’s just I’m so excited for you.”

“Iris? What is Mom talking about?” Felicity queried. “Who is ‘Mr. Baby Blue Eyes’?”

Iris gave a big sigh before she responded with a gleam in her eye, “Tommy Merlyn, Literary Agent for Olivia Bowman.”  
*************************************************************************

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” Oliver asked his best friend as he watched Tommy down another glass of Bourbon. His friend had asked that they meet in the Hotel Lobby bar before heading out to meet with Lyla from Argus Publishing at the Central City offices. He was hoping whatever Lyla wanted to talk about would be quick. He had made plans with Felicity to catch dinner and a movie tonight.

Tommy lifted his glass toward his server, ordered another drink and chuckled, “I’m not sure you’d think that after I tell you what I did yesterday.”

“Tommy, there’s nothing you could say that will threaten to change my mood today,” Oliver predicted. He had a grin on his face a mile wide as he thought of the beautiful blonde computer expert who not only salvaged his computer, but who had also thoroughly enchanted him last night at dinner. They had talked about her computer company and he had talked about raising Thea and her leaving recently to study in New York. He hadn’t said a word about being an author and Felicity hadn’t asked him about the files she had recovered from his ruined laptop. He knew he needed to tell her about being a novelist, but how did he tell her he wrote romance novels?

“I don’t think you want to place a bet on that, buddy,” Tommy warned, swirled his drink and finished it in one gulp. Tommy set the glass down on the table, pulled out his wallet and left several large bills next to the glass, stood up and added, “Come on Ollie. Let’s go get this over with…”

“Stop sounding so ominous, Merlyn,” Oliver chided and pulled something out of his pocket and held it up in his hand. “I have my new novel on this little drive, all ready for Lyla to edit and deliver to everyone’s favorite reviewer.”  
Tommy eyed the thumb drive and hoped his best friend understood why he had set his own plan in motion. He hoped Oliver would realize he had his own best interests in mind. “Lyla’s waiting. We should get going now,” he reminded him. Oliver stood up and followed his friend out of the hotel and to the car waiting for them.  
*********************************************************************************************

“Oliver! It is so good to see you again,” Lyla Michaels greeted as she stood up from her chair behind the desk, moved around the desk to shake his hand and welcome him into her office. She turned her attention to Tommy and equally welcomed him with a firm handshake and motioned for the men to sit down in the chairs stationed in front of her desk. Lyla moved back to her seat and pulled her chair toward the desk and placed her arms on top with her hands folded on top of each other.

“Now, gentlemen that you’ve managed to get me out of my New York office to come and personally pick up your client’s manuscript, do you mind explaining to me what was so important?” Lyla inquired of Tommy and Oliver.

Oliver handed Lyla the thumb drive. “Here’s what I thought brought you to Central City to personally pick-up from me.” Then, he turned to give Tommy a quizzical look. “I thought you said Lyla requested this meeting?”

Tommy squirmed in his chair as Lyla and Oliver focused their curious gaze at him. “I may have prevaricated a bit…”

Lyla and Oliver exchanged glances. Then, Oliver turned toward Tommy and teased, “You only use five syllable words when you’re stalling for time, Merlyn.”

Tommy chuckled hesitantly and nervously agreed with a slight nod of his head. He summoned up some courage and informed them, “I’ve done something that I’m not sure you are ready for Ollie, but I know you need to do, buddy.” 

Oliver tilted his head to the side to study his friend. Tommy had the same look on his face as he did when they were nine and stealing cookies from the cookie jar that used to sit on the counter of the kitchen in of his family’s home. He knew instinctively Tommy must have done something he was not going to like. “Could it be any worse than that time we crashed your Dad’s Porsche in the Star City Bay?”

Tommy laughed, but Lyla frowned. “Tommy, if you’ve done something that will jeopardize the integrity of Argus Publishing…” she cautioned.

“It’s nothing like that,” Tommy promised. “I’ve just…I’ve just made us a deal that will finally give Oliver the credit he deserves for writing his first best-seller and to announce its sequel.”

“Tommy, you know I don’t do book-signings or press tours,” Oliver reminded him.

“I know that Ollie,” he replied, “I just figured with Thea off on her own, you could finally lay claim to who you really are, to what you really are.”

“That is my secret to tell, Tommy, not yours,” Oliver warned. “No one can know my secret…at least, not yet.”

“Tommy, what have you done?” Lyla demanded. “I need to know so I can get my PR team ahead of whatever it is you are planning…”

“I did what I needed to do in order to secure exactly what YOU wanted,” Tommy announced looking directly at his best friend. “I’ve secured you getting to meet the one person who has meant more to your career than Lyla or me…”

“Not if the only way to do it means revealing I’m Olivia Bowman,” Oliver corrected.

“Why not?” Tommy asked exasperatedly. “You’ve written an amazing story and I know…I know that the story contained on that flash drive Lyla is holding, is going to be even better,” he vowed. “It’s time Ollie. It’s time for you to officially take the credit for what you have accomplished.”

“Okay, Merlyn, you’ve got me intrigued,” Lyla admitted as she sat back in her chair and wrapped her arms together.

“Seriously, Lyla?” Oliver questioned her, aghast that she wasn’t as upset with Tommy as he was.

“I’ll admit that your friend making life-altering decisions on your behalf is pretty low,” she answered, “but I also can’t deny that the publicity surrounding the announcement of who’s Olivia Bowman would be spectacular for drumming up interest in The Huntress Cometh’s sequel.”

Oliver stared at both his editor and literary agent in disbelief. He knew he had been contemplating revealing his true, identity once Thea had gone off to New York. He hadn’t wanted her to be teased at high school because her brother wrote a romance novel and had started to feel like the time was ripe to announce who he was to the world. But he had wanted to do it on his terms, not because Tommy felt he needed to or his publisher had realized that they might be able to sell a few more books. He wanted to do it because it was time for him to come out of the shadow of Olivia Bowman and no longer lie about who or what he was. He needed to get out of this office and think about what Tommy and now Lyla, were suggesting. “I gotta go,” he told them and got up to leave the room.

“Ollie, please hear me out,” pleaded Tommy. “I have a plan…a good plan.”

“Maybe you should tell it to Lyla,” Oliver scoffed. “I think she’d be more interested in it right now than I am.” Then he left without a glance back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I am enjoying writing this story, but the next chapter will be delayed.  
> I'll be heading to HVFF San Jose at the end of this week and then starting on my contribution to the Olicity Secret Santa project. If you haven't signed up for it on Tumblr, please consider doing it. It's a lot of fun! :-)  
> Please let me know what you think of this chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> I hadn't thought I would be writing again so soon, but this plot bunny kept bouncing around in my head. Please let me know what you think.  
> Thank you for taking the time to read my little drabble. It is appreciated! :-)


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